Tufting attachment for sewing machines



June 4, 1940. E. w. JACKSON 2, I

TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Fiied Oct. 20, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I e I I R I E I I I I x I I I I g I I I. f W I I I I I N I I I I I I I I I R I l I I 5 (I I I I I I I I I I :I I I I Q r I 9 x Q .V1 I -V Q Q I I0 I\ k 311mm 57 7165}? bLLT' Jacfffion 7 r ic). Z

June 4, 1940. E. w. JACKSON 2,203,220

TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QR V A E a a jwuwvm Erna i U June 4, 1940.- E. w. JACKSON 2,203,220

TUFTING' ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed 001'.- 20, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 3 e m u N Q ff o s s M -w m E mm M r E firnes fi bur Jackson/ v Noam June 4, 1940. E. w. JACKSON TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed 001:. 20, 1938 4 SheetsSheet 4 Y N m "R A J Patented June 4, 1940 2,203,220

UNITED STATES PATENT OF FICE TUFTING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Ernest Wilbur Jackson, Chatsworth, Ga., assignor of one-=third to Ben J. Chromy, Washington, D. 0.

Application October 20, 1938, Serial No. 236,100 9 Claims. (01. 112-'79) This invention relates to tufting devices adopted The rotary hook is preferably formed in the to be attached to sewing machines of the reshape of a single turn helix or spiral so that ciprocating needle type to enable the aforesaid during the operation thereof a previously formed sewing machines to produce chenille decorations loop is cut or severed at about or just after the in clothes of various descriptions. time that another loop is being or is received on An object of this invention is to provide a simthe rotary hook from the sewing machine needle. ple chenille attachment for the sewing machine A surface of the rotary hook is made of material to permit the machine and attachment to be that may be ground to receive a sharp edge and operated at high speeds heretofore not attainable cooperate with the cutting edge of the rotary 3 except perhaps only for very short intervals. cutter for the purpose of shearing the loop thread.

Another object of this invention is to provide The shearing surfaces are formed in such a way a chenille sewing machine attachment 0011- that the thread is gradually and easily cut to structed in such a way that it may be balanced prevent unnecessary strain on the cutting mechand adjusted to facilitate high speed operation anism particularly if bulky thread is being used. for extended periods of time. Various other features of this invention will be A further object of this invention is to provide more fully described in the following specification a chenille machine attachment constructed in and the drawings, in which, briefly, Fig. l is a such a way that various parts of the attachment side view partly in cross-section of the sewing are subjected to continuous rotary motion wheremachine showing my attachment in place; Fig. 2 by the sewing machine and the attachment may is a bottom View illustrating my attachment on 2 be operated at relatively high speeds without ina sewing machine; Fig. 3 is an end view in partial troducing excessive vibrations into the mechsection showing my invention; Fig. 4 is a secanism. tional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 Still another object of this invention is to proshowing the rotatable hook and knife; Fig. 5 is a vide a chenille sewing machine attachment with sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; 25 a rotating loop cutter and a rotating hook which Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4 showing rotates in opposite direction from that of the the hook and knife advanced through a part of cutter and receives the thread loop in such a their cycle of operation; Fig. '7 is a view taken way that cutting of the formed loops is easily along the line '|-'l of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is another and readily accomplished while the rotary hook sectional view similar to Fig. 4 showing the hook 30 is in continuous forward rotation. and knife about to complete a cycle of operation; Other and further objects of this invention will Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the principal part be apparent to those skilled in the art to which of my tufting attachment; Fig. 9a is an enlarged it relates from the following specification and cross-sectional view along the line 9a-9w of Fig. claims: 9 of the rotatable hook to show the minute ridges 35 In accordance with this invention I provide a thereon; Fig. 10 illustrates the appearance of the tufting device attached to sewing machines of cut and uncut loops inserted into the cloth; and the reciprocating needle type. The device of my Fig. 11 is another view illustrating the ends of invention is constructed in a simple manner in the cut loops projecting from the cloth surface.

4,0 such a way that it may be used for long periods Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings in 40 of time at relatively high speeds and thus the detail reference numeral l designates a sewing output of chenille decorations made by each sewmachine of the Singer type in which a needle 2,

ing machine equipped with this invention, incarried by the plunger 3, is reciprocated up and creased. down and carries thread loops down through The attachment of my invention consist essencloth that is moved over the base 4 underneath 45 tially of two moving parts, that is, a rotary cutter the shoe 5 through the operation of an oscillating and a rotary hook both of which are geared cloth advancing device 6. While the cloth is bethrough suitable beveled gears to the sewing maing advanced over the table 4 and thread loops chine which may be of the Singer type in such are being produced, the ring-like hook I and 60 a way that one revolution is imparted to each of cutter 8 associated therewith, arerotated by a these elements each time a loop is formed by differential gear arrangement including relatively the needle of the sewing machine. In a modified small beveledgears 9, l0, and Illa. The gear form of my invention I have shown that the lflis mounted on the shaft II and is connected by cutter need not be rotated and this will be exworm gears l2 to the shaft l3. The shaft I3 is '5' plained in detail in the following specification. driven by worm gears l4 from the main shaft I5 of the sewing machine which also is mechanically connected to the reciprocating needle actuatingplunger 3 to move this plunger and needle up and down. The rotatable hook I and knife 8 are thus operated in step or synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the needle 2.

The rotatable hook I, knife 8, and the beveled gear wheels 9 and Mia are supported by the shaft it which is journaled in the members I? and 58. The bearing members ll and I8 are attached to projections 2i and 22, carried by the sewing machine table 4, by the bolts l9 and 263, respectively. The position of the hook i may be altered slightly with respect to the needle 2 and the table 4 of the sewing machine by loosening the bolts i9 and 28 and moving the shaft it and bearings l? and ill a limited amount determined by the size of the holes formed in the bearing members H and ill for the bolts l9 and 29, respectively. An acjustment such as this is desirable inasmuch as the point 7a of the hook I should be adjusted to come as close as possible to the needle 2 in order to be able to enter the thread loop formed by the needle 2 just as this needle is being drawn up ward from the lowermost position in its cycle of operation. The manner in which the needle forms the thread loop may be observed from Fig. 5 of the drawings, where the needle 2 is shown shortly after its upward movement was initiated. The point 1a of the hook I is in this case advanc ing toward the needle to enter the thread loop. When the point 1a of the book i enters the thread loop between the thread 23 and the needle 2 the loop is caught by the hook so that when the needle 2 is drawn still further upward through the cloth 2 the thread loop is held beneath the lower surface of the cloth by the aforesaid hook. At the same time as the needle 2 is moved upwards the hook 1 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6, by means of the beveled gear 9 which is attached to or formed integral with the bearing portion lb of the hook I as illustrated in Fig. 7. Before the needle 2 is returned downward to form the next thread loop the cloth 25 is advanced in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. '7 by means of a conventional cloth advancing mechanism 6 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. During its next downward movement the needle 2 pierces another hole through the cloth 24, carrying the thread 225 with it as before. By the time the needle is moved downward into its lowermost position the second time the previously formed loop, caught by the hook l, is wound over the helical portion of the hook and is about to be out by the rotatable knife 8 and the cutting surface 70 of the rotatable hook, as shown in Fig. 8.

The hook I is ready to receive the second loop being formed by the needle 2 in the View illustrated in Fig. 8. The second loop being formed resembles the thread loop illustrated. in Fig. 5. At this time the first loop is about to be cut by the cutting edge of the knife 8 cooperating with the cutting edge of the knife 10. In other words the first loop has been wound completely around the hook I and is severed approximately at the time the second or next loop is being received by the hook point 1a.. The cutting operation performed by the rotatable knife and the cutting edge 70 is accomplished by revolving the knife 8 in the opposite direction to that in which the hook is rotated. This is accomplished through the differential gear mechanism employing the gears 9, l9 and Illa. The gear Illa is fixedly attached to the shaft 56 and the knife 8 is likewise attached to this shaft so that the gear lfla rotates the knife 8. The gear 9 is attached to the hook I and rotates this hook. In certain cases it may be desirable not to rotate the knife 8 and in that case the shaft I6 carrying this knife may be held fixed leaving the knife in one position, for example, the position illustrated in Fig. 8 or some similar position where the formed loops may be readily severed. The gear Illa would be dispensed with in this case. Where desired the time of the cutting operation may be slightly altered from the time at which this operation will take place according to the showing in Fig. 8. This may be accomplished by loosening the set screws holding the knife 8 in position on the shaft l6 and either advancing the knife toward the cutting edge 70 or retarding it therefrom. Furthermore if it is desired to advance or retard the time when the hook receives the thread loop from the needle, this may be accomplished by loosening one of the joints, for example joint 1 la in the shaft H and then slowly rotating the fly wheel of the sewing machine until the proper relationship between the needle 2 and hook I is obtained. For example, if it is desired to obtain the relationship shown in Fig. 8 the hook l may be rotated until it is in the position shown irrespective of the position of the needle and then the coupling in the shaft H may be loosened so that the needle 2 may be moved while the hookrremains stationary until the desired relationship is obtained. After the desired relationship is obtained between the hook and needle the coupling in the shaft is again set so that the hook may be rotated in synchronism with the needle. It is of course obvious that these adjustments may be made Without employing a coupling in the shaft ll if one of the worm wheels 52 is provided with an adjustment set screw so that these worm wheels may be rotated without rotating the shaft H by releasing a suitable set screw. Furthermore where desired the worm wheels 42 and I 4 may be replaced by a suitable chain drive if desired.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I have illustrated samples of tufting that may be produced with the machine of my invention. The View shown in Fig. 10 illustrates a plurality of loops that have been severed after they were inserted into the cloth 2t and one loop which is not yet severed. The cord 23 was severed at a series of places 23?), 23c, 23d and 2537 producing loose ends corresponding to the reference numerals. In each case the previously formed loop was severed when the next loop was being formed. For instance the ends 23] were formed from the thread loop at the time I that the loop 23a was being formed and this loop 23a would be or about to be cut when the next loop was being formed. After the threads are inserted as shown in Fig. 11 the thread ends are brushed, combed or otherwise manipulated to bring about a tuft appearance. In order to produce this appearance the fibers forming each of the cords or threads must separated from each other to give a bushy appearance.

The length of the tufting also may be regulated in accordance with this invention by making the hook and knife arrangement and the bearings therefore movable toward or away from the table i of the sewing machine. may be obtained by adjusting the bolts l9 and 20 as was described. However, the attachment of my invention may be movable as a unit through the use of suitable mounting bolts for mounting the unit upon the leg do together with Some adjustment l coupling employed. Where desired a relatively thin section may be cut from the leg 4a adjacent to the tufting attachment and this section may be bolted back to the leg 4a to permit the attachment to be moved with respect to the table 4 to a slight extent.

The hook 1 is provided with minute ridges as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view Fig. 9a, extending longitudinally over the length thereof for the purpose of gripping the thread to prevent same from sliding around the hook after the needle is withdrawn from the cloth as shown in Fig. 7. These ridges are preferably very small and may be formed in the hook by rubbing the hook with a piece of fine emery cloth longitudinally. These ridges provide a certain amount of friction to reduce the transverse movement of the thread across the hook. They do not however interfere with the passage of the hook through the loop. The point 1a of the hook is preferably made relatively blunt as illustrated in the drawings. In this way the size of the loop is made large enough for any cross section of the hook and the friction on the hook is thereby reduced since the loop does not have to be increased in size as would be the case if the cross section of the hook gradually increased were the point made fine and long.

It will be observed that I have described a practical embodiment of this invention in detail in the foregoing specification. However I do not desire to limit this invention to the exact details described except in so far as these details may be defined by the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a chenille sewing machine attachment adapted to be attached to a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle, the combination of: a rotatable substantially helical hook having a pointed free end adapted to pass along side of the needle of the sewing machine and receive a thread loop from said needle, a bearing for said rotatable hook, a gear for driving said rotatable hook, a shaft extending through said bearing, a rotatable knife attached to said shaft and rotatable adjacent to said rotatable hook, a surface of said rotatable hook being formed to cooperate with said rotatable knife to form a shear for severing the thread loop passed over said hook, a second bevel gear attached to said shaft and means for rotating said first mentioned bevel gear and said second bevel gear in time relation with the reciprocating movement of the needle of the sewing machine.

2. In a chenille or tufting sewing machine attachment adapted to be attached to a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle, the combination of: a substantially spiral shaped rotatable hook comprising a substantially complete annular turn having a pointed free and adapted to pass along side of the needle of the sewing machine and receive a thread loop from said needle, a bearing for said rotatable hook, a shaft extending through said bearing, a rotatable knife attached to said shaft and rotatable adjacent to said rotatable hook, a surface of said rotatable hook being formed to cooperate with said rotatable knife to form a shear for severing the thread loop passed over said hook, gear means attached to said shaft for rotating said hook .and

said knife in time relation with the reciprocating movement of the needle of the sewing machine.

3. In chenille sewing machine attachement adapted to be attached to a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle, the combination of: a substantially spiral shaped rotatable hook having a pointed free end adapted to pass along side of the needle of the sewing machine and receive a thread loop from said needle, a sleeve for supporting said rotatable hook, a shaft extending through said sleeve, a knife attached to said shaft and positioned adjacent to said rotatable hook, a

surface of said rotatable hook being formed to cooperate with said knife to form a shear for severing the thread loop passed over said hook, gear means attached to said sleeve for rotating said hook in definite time relation with the reciprocating movement of the needle of the sewing machine.

4. In a chenille sewing machine attachment adapted to be attached to a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle, the combination of z a rotatable substantially circular hook having a pointed free end adapted to pass along side of the needle of the sewing machine and receive a thread loop from said needle, a sleeve attached to said rotatable hook, a gear attached to said sleeve for rotating said hook, a shaft extending through said sleeve, a rotatable knife attached to said shaft, a surface of said rotatable hook being formed to cooperate with said rotatable knife to form a shear for severing the thread loop passed over said hook, and means for rotating said gear and said shaft in time relation with the reciprocating movement of the needle of the sewing machine.

5. A chenille sewing machine attachment, comprising: a rotatable hook formed to include at least one turn of a helix-like element and having a pointed free end for receiving thread loops as they are formed by the sewing machine needle, the inside surface of said hook being provided with minute longitudinal grooves to guide the thread loop; a hollow bearing member, the other end of said hook being attached to said hollow bearing member, a shaft extending through said hollow bearing member, means for rotating said rotatable hook in time relation with the operation of the sewing machine needle, a cutting memben supported adjacent to said rotatable hook, said cutting member being arranged to cut through a formed thread loop just as another thread loop is being formed and received by the pointed free end of said hook.

6. A chenille sewing machine attachment, comprising: a continuously rotatable hook formed substantially in the shape of a helix including at least one turn having a pointed free end for receiving thread loops as they are formed by the sewing machine needle, a bearing member, the other end of said hook being attached to said bearing member, means for rotating said rotatable hook in time relation with the operation of the sewing machine needle, a cutting member, means for rotating said cutting member against the rotation of said hook, said cutting member being supported adjacent to said rotatable hook for cutting the formed thread loops at predetermined intervals during the rotation of said rotatable hook, said rotatable hook being formed in the shape of a helix having at least one turn so that a thread loop may be threaded on said hook substantially at the supported end of said hook in position for cutting by said cutting member as said pointed free end is positioned to receive another thread loop.

7. A chenille sewing machine attachment, comprising: a rotatable hook formed substantially in the shape of a helix having at least one turn with a pointed free end for receiving thread loops as they are formed by the sewing machine needle, means for continuously rotating said rotatable hook in time relation with the operation of the sewing machine needle, a cutting member, means for continuously rotating said cutting member against the rotation of said hook, said cutting member extending radially with respect to said rotatable hook and adjacent thereto for cutting the formed thread loops at predetermined intervals during the rotation of said rotatable hook, said rotatable hook being formed in the shape of a helix having at least one turn so that a thread loop may be threaded on said hook while another thread loop is being formed and positioned to be received by the pointed end of said hook.

8. A chenille sewing machine attachment adapted to be attached to a sewing machine having a reciprocating needle, the combination of: a rotatable hook formed substantially in the shape of a helix having at least one turn with a pointed free end for passing along side of the needle to receive thread loops substantially as they are completed, means for continuously rotating said rotatable hook in time relation with the operation of the sewing machine needle, a rotatable cutting member adapted to rotate adjacent to a surface of said hook to shear formed thread loops against said hook surface at selected intervals, the plane of rotation of said cutting member being substantially displaced from the plane of rotation of said pointed free end of said hook so that thread loops may be received by said pointed end of said hook and threaded on said hook towardsaid.

cutting hook surface and into the plane of rotation of said cutting member simultaneously as said-needle is reciprocated to form another thread loop to be received by said pointed end of said hook.

prising; a continuously rotatable hook, formed 9. A chenille sewing machine attachment, comsubstantially in the shape of a helix including at least one turn having a pointed free end for receiving thread loops as they are formed by the sewing machine needle, a bearing member, the other end of said hook being attached to said bearing member, means forrotating said rotatable hook in time relation with the operation of the sewing machine needle, a cutting member, means for rotating said cutting member against the rotation of said hook, said cutting member being supported adjacent to said rotatable hook for cutting the formed thread loops at predee termined intervals during the rotation of said rotatable hook, said rotatable book being formed in the shape of a helix having at least one turn so that a thread loop may be threaded on said hook substantially at thesupported end of said i hook in position for cutting by said cutting member as said pointed free end is positioned to receive another thread loop, a frame, a bolt supported by said frame, said bolt engaging said bearing member whereby said rotatable hook mayv be adjusted to and away from the cloth so that tufting of different nap length may be obtained by loosening said bolt and moving said bearing means closer to or further away from a chosen position of said needle.

ERNEST WILBUR JACKSON. 

